My 8 year old started Ticing

[Atex]

On 10/12/2023 at 3:32 PM, Notokay29 said:

This sounds so hard! But I’m willing to try, I will try to talk to him about the candy and food they give out in school and monitor what he eats at home. How long do you think it would take until we start to see a difference, if there will be a difference?

For me, i found that making decisions on timescales that were on the order of many weeks were the shortest that were useful.  As others have mentioned, he could literally still be inflamed from having over a month of something that wasn't being tolerated.  You might still be within the wait and see period before doing something drastic to the diet.

 

[Notokay29]

On 10/13/2023 at 5:13 PM, Irene123 said:

I also noticed that allergy medication like Claritin makes my daughter's tics worse. Maybe try some natural allergy relief stuff like Boiron allergy calms tablets (I have not tried them yet so can't speak to their efficacy). In terms of food, we have been completely sugar and artificial colors/flavors free for years and have not seen any results. A lot of people say to go gluten free, it is very hard to do, but if your son can do it, then definitely try it. Since he has anxiety and is sensitive, I would look into craniosacral therapy which is very relaxing and might help him with tension in his body. We just started it and we like it so far. I am just as desperate as you but we have been dealing with this for 6 years since my daughter was 8, and it is very hard to have a child who tics and you can't help him, I know. Calming the body and mind in my view is the best thing for him 

Hi Irene, has there been anything that has helped your daughter? My son loves his food, it’s literally his favorite thing, going out to eat, buying fast food. Lol it really makes his day, so cutting all that would honestly break his heart. His tics are the worst when he’s anxious or excited, otherwise he barely tics. (That’s why I don’t think it’s food related) I’m right now in the wait and see period. If it gets worse, we’ll be starting the diet change. 

[Irene123]

If he only tics when he is anxious or excited, I would work on getting him relaxed at this point by whatever means that work for him, be it some breathing relaxation techniques or craniosacral therapy or something like that. Unfortunately, nothing has heled my daughter, she tics constantly from the moment she wakes up, she is refusing to make any dietary changes or do any relaxation techniques, it is as if she wants to tic even though she says she wants it gone. The only thing I would advise against is eating any artificial colors/flavors whatsoever, no exceptions, and reducing or eliminating altogether sugary foods. My daughter has not had candy in years, and she is fine about it, she is so used to not eating it. 

[Atex]

I would try to be cognizant that it may not be one trigger but rather a combination of triggers that finally breach a threshold.

My daughter has been almost entirely tic free for months until yesterday when we took her to a new park that had that poured in place rubber walking surface which I could strongly smell offgassing.  Low and behold, she almost immediately started ticcing there and for the rest of the day when excited.  Woke up this morning fine again.

VOC and chemical exposure is often super nefarious. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Atex

[Notokay29]

On 11/6/2023 at 8:12 AM, Atex said:

I would try to be cognizant that it may not be one trigger but rather a combination of triggers that finally breach a threshold.

My daughter has been almost entirely tic free for months until yesterday when we took her to a new park that had that poured in place rubber walking surface which I could strongly smell offgassing.  Low and behold, she almost immediately started ticcing there and for the rest of the day when excited.  Woke up this morning fine again.

VOC and chemical exposure is often super nefarious. 

I feel like I’m on the same boat as you! His triggers are definitely something in those fields because when he didn’t have soccer practice for 2 weeks straight, no tics, and if he did they were so minimal I did not notice. Then when he’s on the field again bam he’ll tic until he gets home. I blamed it on excitement, but Halloween was super fun and exciting, we went trick or treating twice in one day, he had the best time and still did not tic. So it’s either the field, or nerves (he says he doesn’t get nervous during soccer) 

[Chemar]

Hi @Notokay29

I so agree with Atex on noxious chemicals that can be tic triggers, plus that sometimes it takes a trigger combo, or perhaps just a subtle underlying change in a person's immune system, to see waxing tics.

Once we knew my son had Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, we had more clarity on a lot of his reactivity to what he came in contact with, inhaled or ingested.

Still sounds to me like your son may be reactive to possible chemical treatment of the field, or even the bright lighting there (if night games?) My son ticced more under fluorescent lighting.